Airlines Salivating Over Open Skies Agreement

The Trans-Atlantic deregulation agreement known as “Open Skies” has airlines chomping at the bit—even though the start date is still 11 months away, according to USAToday. The agreement will allow any US airline to fly anywhere in the EU and any EU airline to fly anywhere in the US. So, will you be flying Aer Lingus from Cleveland to Dallas? Maybe. Will it be cheaper?

The experts only agree on one thing, it probably won’t be any more expensive than it is now. Much of the excitement surrounds London’s Heathrow Airport, or as USA Today puts it:

“Heathrow is the cash cow,” Ash says. In the 12 months ended in February, the average fare from the USA to Heathrow was 29% higher than that from the USA to Gatwick, another main London airport, according to consultant Sabre Aviation Solutions. For the airlines, stakes in the coming rules change are high. Trans-Atlantic air traffic between Europe and the USA is expected to increase by 55% over the next five years.

Currently, American Airlines and United are the only US airlines permitted to provide service to Healthrow.—MEGHANN MARCO

I’m extremely excited about this prospect – I’m tired of paying so much for a transatlantic flight. I hope this will open up competition, and I can take vacations more frequently to the Old World. Heathrow is such a bottle neck for connecting to the the rest of Europe, and unless you want to risk a cross town jaunt on a trip to Gatwick, Luton, or City, you’re kinda screwed.

I will totally be taking Aer Lingus from LA to Seattle. I mean, yeah, its the most cramped planes in the history of the world, but I’ve done a 13-hour flight with Aer Lingus before without food or getting up once, so BRING IT ON!

Not with this agreement. What you’re talking about is called “cabotage”, which allows a foreign operator to carry passengers between two domestic points of another country. No existing “Open Skies” agreements allow cabotage, not even the new agreement between the US and Canada.

Distance does not affect the cost of the ticket. Fares are calculated on other factors, but distance is not one of them. Just like cable rates and cell phone plans, fares are geared to how much you are willing to pay, not on the cost or distance.

ummm… yes it is based on distance. That’s why the main metric is “cost per seat mile.” The take the leg/stage length and then factor the cost of the flight and then the number of seats they have on the plane.